Alabama fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon after he was found to be connected with betting activity in Ohio concerning the LSU-Alabama game on Friday, two people briefed on the investigation told The Athletic.
The university announced Thursday that Bohannon was being fired for “violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees.” A person familiar with the investigation said there was no evidence that any athletes were involved.
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According to a statement issued by the school, athletic director Greg Byrne initiated the termination process, and Alabama will not provide further comment due to an “ongoing review.”
Bohannon’s firing comes days after a report that Ohio gambling regulators instructed sportsbooks to halt betting on Alabama baseball games on Monday afternoon. ESPN obtained the text of an emergency order sent to Ohio sportsbooks regarding “suspicious wagering activity” on last Friday’s game against LSU, and NOLA.com later reported that two suspicious bets placed in Cincinnati, both involving LSU winning the game, triggered the alert.
Ronnie Johns, the chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, said his organization received an email this weekend from the independent gaming monitoring company U.S. Integrity, alerting the organization to a large bet placed on the Alabama-LSU game. Johns said his organization checked to ensure that no one at LSU was involved and found no evidence that anyone with the Tigers played any role.
U.S. Integrity contracts with sportsbooks, sports leagues and state regulators to track gaming transactions. U.S. Integrity president Matt Holt declined to reveal the amount of the bets placed, but he explained that his company monitors several factors that could generate a red flag. This includes an unusually large amount bet on a sport that doesn’t tend to draw wagers of that level and whether a bettor just opened an account or recently reactivated an account. If a bet triggers a red flag in U.S. Integrity’s computer system or if a sportsbook operator reports suspicious activity, a U.S. Integrity employee investigates and issues an anonymized warning to state control boards and sportsbooks. In the case of the Alabama-LSU bets, this process happened “within minutes,” Holt said.
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On Monday, Ohio’s Casino Control Commission issued an order to remove Alabama baseball games from the board. John Murray, the director of sports at Westgate’s Superbook, said that operators follow such directives immediately. “We let the regulators guide us,” Murray said. Murray said college baseball doesn’t typically draw heavy wagering until the College World Series.
Johns said it’s critical that when suspicious bets get placed, regulators and teams take quick action. “The system worked,” Johns said. “We have to protect the integrity of sports wagering or the system will crater.” Asked whether authorities in Louisiana might pursue criminal action against anyone involved in this case, Johns said that at this point his organization has no knowledge of anything specific to the case happening in Baton Rouge. Johns said that if Ohio’s regulatory commission finds any possible evidence of actions in Louisiana affecting the bet, Louisiana’s board would investigate.
On Wednesday, New Jersey sportsbooks joined Ohio in banning any wagers on Alabama baseball games. On Thursday morning, Pennsylvania sportsbooks also banned wagers on Alabama baseball games.
“The prohibition on Alabama baseball wagers (in Ohio) continues until it is lifted by the Commission,” said Jessica Franks, the director of communications for the Ohio Casino Control Commission. “I can’t give you a timeline on when our investigation might wrap up. It will take as long as it takes.”
The game in question was the first of a three-game series in Baton Rouge between Alabama and LSU, the consensus No. 1 team in the country. Hours before the start of the game, Alabama scratched projected starting pitcher Luke Holman due to back tightness and started righthander Hagan Banks in his place. The Crimson Tide trailed 8-1 after seven innings and rallied with five runs in the final two frames, but third baseman Colby Shelton struck out with runners on first and second to secure an 8-6 loss. LSU was a heavy favorite in the game.
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Alabama has posted winning seasons in each of the last five seasons under Bohannon and was 30-15 this season and 9-12 in SEC play, tied for third in the SEC West. The Crimson Tide are set to host Vanderbilt on Thursday night.
Pitching coach Jason Jackson will serve as interim head coach.
“The University of Alabama has taken swift action after information about baseball sports wagering activity was questioned by industry regulators,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Ensuring the integrity of athletic competition is our highest priority, and for that purpose the SEC monitors gambling activity through its relationship with US Integrity and has done so since 2018.
“There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition. We will remain in communication with the University throughout its ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time.”
(Photo: Jonathan Mailhes/ Cal Sport Media via AP Images)